Superman AS: The Truth Revealed
by ben10987654321
Summary: Six months after the events of First Date Lois finally learns the truth about Clark. Is it the end of their relationship or will true love win in the end. Meanwhile Lex is coming up with another plan to kill Superman. Will he finally succeed? Clois
1. Chapter 1

**Superman A.S: The Truth Revealed**

Summary: Six months after the events of First Date Lois finally learns the truth about Clark. Is it the end of their relationship or will true love win in the end. Meanwhile Lex is coming up with another plan to kill Superman. With the Man of Steel distracted with his relationship problems will Lex finally succeed?

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

* * *

Lois is sitting at home alone. Clark has had to call off their date again; some sort of emergency. He's always so vague. Six months they have been dating and during that time she has noticed just how often Clark disappears on one of his 'errands'. Funny how she never noticed it before. Well she did notice but didn't really think about it till now. He's keeping something from her she knows it. Now she has not pressurised him to tell her. She figured when he's ready he would tell her but come on 6 months!

She wonders if it has something to do with the other problem their having. 6 months and they haven't slept together. Now sex isn't everything in a relationship but every time it seems they're close to heading that way Clark pulls back. It's just so damn frustrating. He obviously desires her, she can see it, even through those glasses. Actually come to think of it he never takes those off. Has she ever seen him without those? Has she ever really looked into his eyes? Oh they are way too many unanswered questions. It's time she got to the bottom of this. She'll go and ask Chloe, after all she's known Clark longer. Lois gets off her couch and sets off for Chloe's apartment.

Chloe is also at home. She's staring at her engagement ring. Jimmy finally proposed to her a few days ago. She's over the moon. She would be even happier if he was here but he's off trying to get photos of Superman. Sometimes it sucks knowing Clark's secret. Her ring admiration is broken by knocking on the door. She goes and opens it "Lois?"

Lois barges in.

"Come on in" Chloe says to the empty space. It's a good thing they're cousins or she'd slap Lois sometimes.

"Chloe I need to ask you about Clark"

Uh oh. This doesn't sound good Chloe thinks. "What about him?"

"You've known him longer than me right?"

"Since we were little, yes" Lois is biting her thumb nail again. "Lois what is it? What's wrong?" Chloe asks her.

"It's just I know he's keeping something from me and I've tried to be patient and understanding but I can't stand it anymore. To make it worse we haven't even…" Lois trails off.

Chloe is sure she's going to regret this "You haven't even?"

"We haven't…Is there someone else?"

"What! Lois No. Clark loves you"

"Then why won't he sleep with me? I know I shouldn't be burdening you Chloe but I just need to talk to someone"

Oh great. Chloe knew this would happen. She had been telling Clark for weeks to tell Lois the truth and so has Kara. This is almost as awkward as when Clark talked to her about his and Lana's sex life. The worse part was she was now going to have to talk to him about his and Lois' sex life. Oh she is so going to have to knock some sense into him. "Lois I can't give you an answer" even though she has a good idea what's holding him back. "There are only two options, you ask him flat out or I do"

"No Chloe. What if that pushes him away? I couldn't bear it"

Alright Chloe is putting an end to this tonight. "Lois I have to meet Jimmy, there's ice-cream in the freezer. I promise I won't be long"

"Go ahead Chloe. I don't mean to ruin your relationship along with mine"

Chloe gets her coat and heads out. She wishes she had a piece of kryptonite to hit Clark with. He better be home by now.

* * *

Clark arrives back home after another heroic dead. His night with Lois is ruined. He has got to find a better balance in his life. He changes out of his costume and into his still favourite plaid shirt and jeans. There's a knock at the door. He x-rays it. Chloe? He opens it "Hey Chloe"

"Don't hey Chloe me" she barges in.

Uh oh he knows that tone. "I didn't do it"

"Didn't what? Didn't stand up my cousin? Didn't leave her in my apartment drowning her sorrows in ice-cream?"

Oh god she's eating ice-cream. He hadn't meant to hurt her like that. "Chloe I…I."

He didn't have an answer for her.

"Clark this has gone on long enough. It's time to tell her the truth."

"Chloe I can't. Not without hurting her" He really wanted to but the longer he had left it the harder it became and now Lois will probably kill him when she finds out.

"Clark you are already hurting her. You said you needed a few months to make sure what you and Lois had was real. Answer me this is it?"

"Yes but..."

"No buts. I heard a yes. Now I hate to bring this up but is your secret the reason you won't sleep with her"

Oh dear god. He can't go into that with Chloe again. "Chloe I really don't..."

Chloe cuts him off "I don't care how awkward you feel Clark, answer me"

"I won't sleep with Lois unless she knows the truth. It would be wrong, ok"

"Finally we're getting somewhere. Once you've told her can you? I mean I remember how worried you were that you couldn't control yourself"

Clark has a strong wish to fly off right now "I still worry about that. I mean it's been a really long time" Worse than that the actual last time was when Lana temporarily had his powers. He had never actually had sex with a normal human woman while he had his powers but dear god did he want to. It was taking all his self-control to not burn everything in sight with his heat vision.

Chloe sits down on Clark's couch. "Clark unless you tell her, she's going to end up leaving anyway. The only question is can you live your life knowing you did that?"

Clark sits next to Chloe. "You're right Chloe, I know that. Just give me a few days to work out how to tell her" He can't lose Lois. He loves her so much.

Chloe just nods in agreement and puts her hand round Clark's shoulders to comfort him.

* * *

The next day Clark arrives at the Planet. He hasn't slept at all. He spent all night thinking how to tell Lois the truth. He wasn't any closer to an answer. He had picked up Lois' coffee as usual. He exits the elevator to find Lois already in. She is almost never in this early. He walks over "Morning Lois"

"Morning Clark"

"Here's your coffee" Clark hands over the cup.

Lois takes the cup "Thank you"

Ok Clark can't help but notice the rather frosty overtone Lois is speaking to him with. He pushes the glasses up his nose "So you're in early"

Lois shrugs "If you say so"

"Lo what's wrong?" Clark decides to use her nickname hoping to soften her responses to him.

"Nothing!" Lois says it more harshly than she means to. "What are you doing tonight?"

"I have nothing planned why?"

"I need your help with a story" she infoms him.

"Ok"

"I'll meet you at your apartment after dark"

"Ok"

"Now if you'll excuse me Smallville I've got work to do" Lois literally stomps off.

Clark is confused. She's mad at him obviously, yet she wants to spend a night investigating a story. Ok he's missing something.

Lois leaves because she can't just spend all day with Clark at the moment. She said she wouldn't push but she thought about it last night and she is going to get some answers. Plus she does actually have a story to investigate. So they investigate some arms smuggling then she can get Clark alone and cornered. She has had enough of this.

* * *

That night Clark is waiting for Lois to arrive. Its been a quiet day really for Superman. There was an attempted jailbreak but only one person managed to escape, John Corben. Clark and Lois caught him about a year ago smuggling weapons for Lex. Clark couldn't find him anywhere which was a little odd but it wouldn't matter soon. Corben was dying of a fatal virus, he had 6 months tops. He has barely seen Lois all day. This can't go on much longer he knows. He just needs some time alone with her where they can talk in a calm and rational manner. Who is he kidding? Lois is going to kill him for keeping this secret for so long. There is a knock on the door. It's Lois. He heard her coming from 15 blocks away. He opens the door "Come on Smallville I don't have all night" Lois turns around and heads off. Clark grabs his jacket and heads off in pursuit.

Lois wasn't in the mood to talk to Clark right now. No Job first, get answers from Clark later. Clark catches up to her as they reach her car. "Lois what are we doing? You neglected to tell me."

"Now you know how I feel" she mutters.

"Sorry Lois you've lost me"

"Just get in the car Clark" she orders.

Clark gets in and they drive to a Luthorcorp warehouse in silence. They get out.

"Lois can you please tell me why we're here?"

"One of my sources says Lex is smuggling something through here. He's probably back in the arms trade"

Oh great Clark thought they had put an end to that. He tries to x-ray the building. Lead lined. Lex has been lining all his properties with lead lately ever since he found out that Superman can't see through lead. Lois is still giving him the cold shoulder "Lois I know you're mad at me.."

"Clark this is not the time but rest assured we are going to talk about that"

Great Clark is so looking forward to that talk. Lois is already off. "Lois wait up"

"Move it or lose it Smallville"

So here Clark is once again breaking and entering with Lois. How come he gets himself into these things? She's mad at him for cancelling their date and the only way out of this mess is to tell her the truth and then she'll be even madder. Anyway they come across some unmarked crates, not suspicious or anything. Lois is trying to open it. "Give me a hand"

Clark rolls his eyes and pulls the crate open. The second he does so he sees the crate is full of green glowing rocks. OH NO! In a second he is on the floor unconscious from being exposed to such a large amount of kryptonite.

"Clark!" Lois sees Clark collapse. Oh god he looks sick. He's pale and sweating and barely breathing. Lois bends down. "Clark, wake up. Please" She opens his shirt to help him breathe and notices a very familiar blue colour underneath. She opens more buttons and the red S soon appears. Oh my God. He's Superman. Oh my God the kryptonite. Lois jumps up and closes the crate. She bends back down. Clark still hasn't woken up. She removes his glasses and runs her hand through his hair. Suddenly a curly strand falls across his forehead. It really is him. How could she not see it? How could he lie to her? Clark opens his eyes and she sees the true colour of his eyes. For a second she is concerned about him. He sits up. Then she slaps him.


	2. Chapter 2

Clark comes round to see Lois holding his glasses. He had expected an angry look on her face considering but all he sees is concern so he sits up. Then Lois slaps him. For a second he thinks about putting his hand to his cheek to feign pain but that would be pointless now. He stands up and notices his shirt is undone. Damn he should have left the suit at home. "Lois.."

Lois stands up and shakes her hand. God his head is hard "Clark I don't want to hear it. Bottom line is you lied to me. You have been lying to me for over 10 years. You said you always tell the truth. Well that was another lie."

"Lois I didn't lie to you. Not once did I say I'm not Superman."

"Oh really. What about your so called errands like I forgot my dry cleaning or I left the oven on. What were those?"

Clark couldn't answer. She sort of had him there.

"Well obviously I'm not trust worthy enough for you to share the truth with me. Our relationship has been built on lies"

"No it wasn't Lois. I do love you and this has nothing to do with trust" Clark tells her.

"Oh really! You expect me to believe that"

"Yes! Lois, my secret is a burden. It has driven nearly everyone who knew about it away and I couldn't drive you away. I can't live my life without you"

"Other people know!?" Oh great he tells other people but not me.

Oh well done Clark. Give her more reasons to be mad at you. He takes a breath. "One or two" he answers.

"Who?" Lois demands to know who is more important than her.

"My parents obviously"

Fine she'll let that one slide. "Anybody else?"

"My school friend Pete" Clark is now nervously scratching the back of his head "He, um, found my spaceship"

"You have a spaceship!"

"Had a spaceship. I sort of destroyed it. It's a long story"

"We'll discuss that later, who else?"

"Lana"

"Of course" Lois starts to walk off. Of course he would tell Lana. That man!

Clark fixes his shirt and chases after Lois. "Lo, wait up?"

"Don't Lo me" she tells him while she walking away.

"Lois you still have my glasses" Clark points out to her.

Lois stops. She does still have them. She holds them up and examines them. The lenses have a tint she notices. "They're tinted" she says to Clark.

Clark takes them from Lois' hand and puts them back on. "It hides my eye colour" he explains.

Lois turns and storms off again.

Clark is still following "Lois stop. We need to talk about this"

"No we don't. You tell Lana but not me, the woman you supposedly love"

"I do love you but back then I loved Lana. I thought if I told her we could be together but instead all it did was drive her away" Clark tries to explain.

Lois is listening to him thinking that he might just have a point but she continues walking. They get back to the car. Lois turns and looks at Clark "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Of course I was. I've been trying to think of a way for ages"

Lois calms down a bit. "So are there other people that know apart from the ones you mentioned?"

Clark is back to scratching his head nervously "Kara obviously, she is my cousin"

Then it hits Lois "Kara is Supergirl"

"Well yeah"

"Keep going who else?"

"A few members of the Justice League but that's only because we sort of saw what each other could do back when we were younger."

"This is not exactly a short list Clark. Anyone else?"

"Just one"

"Go on" Lois folds her arms in anticipation.

Clark gulps. He hopes she will forgive him for this "Chloe"

Clark braces for yelling but instead Lois gets in her car and drives off. Guess he's flying home then. There isn't anything else he can do till Lois calms down. Oh damn the kryptonite. Well the crate was lined with lead. He could just go grab it and throw it into the sun. With a slight sigh Clark spins into costume and goes to get the crate. The only question left is what is Lex up to with the kryptonite? Probably another attempt to kill him. Can his life get any worse?

* * *

Chloe's rather peaceful night in is ruined by banging on her door. "Chloe Sullivan open this door!"

Lois?

Chloe goes to the door and Lois barges in. "How could you not tell me?" she demands to know. Her cousin of all people kept this a secret from her.

"Tell you what Lois?"

"About Clark"

Chloe has a bad feeling where this is going "What about Clark?"

Lois just stares at her.

Chloe understands "He told you"

"No I found out after I nearly killed him with kryptonite"

"What! Is he ok?"

"No he's a big lying jerk" Lois says in a sulk.

"I mean in the alive and breathing sense of ok" Chloe explains to Lois.

"What? Oh he's fine." Lois crashes on the couch "So lets hear your story Chloe because I am sure as hell not going to be getting the truth out of Clark Kent or Superman or whatever name he goes by"

Chloe sits on the couch next to Lois "First Lois, he is Clark. Even when he's Superman he is still Clark and secondly what do you want to know?"

"Well when he told you would be a good start?"

"He didn't exactly tell me. I saw him catch a car like it was a tinker toy. I assumed he was meteor infected"

Meteor infected? "You knew back in high school!"

"The whole truth no. I didn't get that till the day of the second meteor shower when I got transported up to his Fortress of Solitude"

"His what?"

"Ooh he hasn't told you about that yet"

"I sort of stormed off before we got through everything. So what's this Fortress of Solitude?"

"It's kind of hard to explain. It's one of these things you have to see. Basically it's a replica of his home planet and it holds all of Krypton's knowledge"

"What's it like?"

"Cold"

Lois looks at Chloe puzzled.

"It's in the arctic"

"Right of course it is" Lois says sarcastically

"I'm serious Lois"

"Ok I believe you. It's not just that Chloe. Do you know how many other people knew this before me?"

"Including myself?"

Lois nods and Chloe counts in her head "About 10 if you include the Justice League members that know"

Ok so that's not that many. "He told Lana" Lois says in a slight huff.

"Yeah well that's sort of complicated" Chloe says and that is an understatement.

"How?"

"You should ask him" Chloe tells Lois hoping to get them talking.

"He'll lie. I'm asking you"

"Lois he won't lie. I don't think he really has ever lied to you but to answer your question he sort of told her twice"

Twice? "What she forgot?"

"No he told her, she died and he turned back time to save her"

Ok even for Lois this was a lot to absorb. "What did he do the second time around to save her?"

"He didn't tell her. That's why they broke up after Mr Kent died. He went back to keeping it secret from her"

"And the second time he told her?"

"When she left Lex. She saw Clark do some super human things and assumed like I had that he was meteor infected. When she told him what she thought she knew he corrected her but Lois don't compare yourself to Lana. You are not like her thank god"

"Why do you say that Chloe?"

"Because of what she did"

"What did she do?"

"You really stormed out early in the argument didn't you?"

Lois shrugs.

"Remember 6 months ago when she was in town and Clark ended up wearing that red kryptonite ring"

Lois thought back. Superman had said, no Clark had said a friend who betrayed him had put it on him. "Lana put that ring on him!"

Chloe nods.

The bitch. Lois really feels like slapping her now. "Did Clark say why she did that?"

"She told me herself. She wanted to know if Clark still loved her so she put the ring on to remove his inhibitions"

"What did Clark do?" Lois was now biting her thumbnail.

"Told her to grow up and accept that he loves you"

"He really said that" Lois says not quite believing Chloe.

"Yes Lois he did even through the red kryptonite haze he still loves you." Chloe can see Lois is softening. "Lois give him a chance to explain all of this. You love Clark, don't give that up without a fight"

Lois' anger is waning. Clark chose her over Lana despite the fact Lana knows more about him. Superman chose her. Oh god she's been dating Superman. After he first arrived she had wondered what he did when he wasn't off saving people. Now she knows. He's been sitting with her, working beside her, kissing her. Superman loves her but she's a screw up.

"Lois you're not saying anything"

"I just realised something"

"What?"

"Superman loves me. Me Lois Lane. Out of all the woman in the world he chooses me"

"Is there a point anywhere here Lois?"

"He can't love me. I'm a screw up"

Chloe groans "Lois stop. You're not a screw up. Lois listen to me. Talk. To. Clark"

"Fine I will. Tomorrow is Saturday we can have the whole weekend to talk. Good enough for you"

"Yes" Finally. Stupid stubborn woman and big dumb alien. Chloe smiles. They're perfect for each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Elsewhere John Corben is held up in a safe house Lex has provided for him. He's not sure why Lex went through all this effort, after all he is dying. More than that though Lex isn't known for caring for people who fail him. This is all Superman's fault. He could of gotten rid of the Lane woman no problem but Superman just had to show up. Now he has caught some rare disease he has never heard of and will be dead in 6 months. At this point Lex walks in.

"John, good to see you again" Lex greets him.

"Mr Luthor. Thank you for all this but I have to ask.."

"Why help a dying man?"

"Well yes"

"Your body may be dying John but I have a way to save your mind. More than that if you agree to this I can give you the means to destroy Superman"

A way to live and destroy Superman? Of course John is tempted but he knows Lex, these things always come at a price. "What would it entail?"

"The transferring of your mind into a new, better body"

"I would like to know exactly how this will work first"

"Of course John. Tomorrow you'll come to the lab I've set up and I'll have the doctors explain everything to you. Does that suit you?"

"Yes Mr Luthor. Thank you" John extends his hand and Lex shakes it.

"Well John I'll see you tomorrow"

Lex leaves and heads back to his car. That went as he expected. Desperate, dying men are so easy to manipulate. Of course what John doesn't need to know is that it was he who arranged to get John infected in the first place. In a few of days he'll be rid of Superman and with any luck Supergirl will follow soon after. He gets in his limo. Mercy is inside waiting on him.

"I have bad news Mr Luthor"

Lex shakes his head. There goes his good mood. "What happened?"

"The shipment containing the kryptonite has gone missing"

"Missing? What do you mean missing?"

"The men went to pick it up and it was gone" Mercy informs him.

"I told them not to let it out of their sight" Lex says with a raised voice. Imbeciles. He is surrounded by imbeciles.

"They didn't follow your instructions"

"Have them dealt with in the usual manner" Lex instructs Mercy.

"Yes Mr Luthor. What about Project Metallo?"

"There's just enough kryptonite to still make it work if we succeed on the first attempt. Corben was suppose to be the prototype. Now he'll be the only one until I can find more kryptonite" Lex signals for his driver to take him home. Why does he have to deal with such incompetence? He was planning an army of indestructible cyborgs, now he'll just have to satisfy himself with Superman's death.

* * *

Next day Clark wakes up late. Usually he's up with the sun but he was feeling kind of drained after his exposure to all that kryptonite last night. At least he got rid of that crate. He goes over and opens the curtains and lets the sunlight in. He stands there bathing in the sunlight, letting his body recharge. He loves the feeling of sunlight on his skin, it sort of tingles. Perhaps later he'll fly up into orbit and into the unfiltered sunlight. Well he better have a shower and then make breakfast. Clark stands under the shower thinking over how to make things right with Lois. He is so lost in thought he doesn't hear someone enter his apartment. He finishes his shower, dries himself and wraps a towel round his waist. He opens the door to go get changed only to be met by someone staring at him "Lois!". He should never have given her that key.

Lois had gotten up early for her and driven to Clark's apartment. She had decided to listen to Chloe and talk to Clark. She'll let him explain himself. She wants to give him a chance because she simply can't live without him. She had tried to stay mad at him but when she went back home after leaving Chloe's, everywhere she looked simply brought up happy memories of her and Clark. So here she is standing outside his door, chewing her thumb nail. She really has to try and quit that.

She knocks on his door. No answer. Maybe he's off rescuing someone so Lois decides to let herself in and wait for Clark to get back. She walks in and hears someone in the shower. She walks towards the door and just as she reaches it, it swings open revealing Clark only in a towel. Clark may have said something but Lois' mind has stopped working. She sort of knew Clark had a great body, after all his Superman outfit is skin tight, but she never imagined how defined he really is. He looks like he is chiseled out of stone or should that be steel.

Clark can't help but notice Lois is staring at him. Is she drooling? "Lois. What are you doing here?"

Lois snaps out of it "What? Oh I spoke to Chloe last night and she said we should talk so I came over so we could talk and I heard the shower and then you walked out in that towel.."

"Lois you're babbling" Clark points out to her.

"I don't babble and will you put some clothes on, you're distracting" Oh god she didn't just say that.

Clark can't help but smile a little. He disappears at superspeed and gets changed. No point in hiding what he can do anymore.

Lois watches Clark vanish and then reappear in jeans, plaid, still the plaid after all these years and his glasses. "Clark you don't need to wear those around me" Lois tells him while pointing at his glasses.

"Oh, force of habit" Clark takes them off. "So have you had breakfast?"

"Not really, I wanted to get here early"

"Really?" Clark's heart rate increases. There's a chance he can salvage this.

"Yes. As I said I want us to talk"

"Ok. Let me make you something first" Clark goes off to the kitchen to make breakfast.

* * *

Elsewhere John Corben is arriving at Lex's lab. Lex is there. "Good Morning John"

"Good morning Mr Luthor"

"This is Dr Jones" Lex introduces a middle aged man with greying hair. "He's in charge of this project. Dr Jones will explain to you what the procedure involves"

Dr Jones sheppard's John into another room and picks up a metal bar "John this is a metal alloy called Metallo, virtually indestructible. With it we have constructed a robotic body that possess vast strength.."

John suddenly realises "You want to transfer my mind into a robot! Why not just clone me?"

Lex steps forward "What good is a cloned body against Superman. You want revenge against him for imprisoning you in a place where you caught a fatal disease then this is the only way. But more than the strength this body possesses John, it is powered by Superman's one weakness" Lex signals for an assistant to bring a box over. Lex takes it and opens the box "Kryptonite John. With this you can kill Superman. Besides John you don't think I would leave you in that robot do you. No, once Superman is gone my scientists will work on that cloned body if that is what you want"

John thinks about it.

"Think carefully John. You can go down in history as the man who killed Superman"

"Ok I'll do it" John agrees.

"Excellent. Now go with these assistants and they will prepare you for the procedure"

John nods and follows two young men out of the room. Dr Jones walks over to Lex "Mr Luthor, once he is in the robot body, he can't be removed from it"

"I am well aware of that Doctor"

Dr Jones just nods. Better not to argue and just get on with it.

"Oh and Doctor"

"Yes Mr Luthor"

"Don't Fail"

Dr Jones gulps. "Yes Mr Luthor"

Lex smiles and goes off to attend to other matters. The procedure would take most of the day anyway.

* * *

Back at Clark's apartment Lois is finishing breakfast. "That was great, thank you"

"Thank my mom. I learned everything from her" Clark puts the dishes in his washer.

"How is Mrs Kent?"

"She's fine, thinking of retiring actually" She was still one of the most popular Senators in Washington.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I think she misses Smallville"

Lois would have to make some time to see her. "So..." she begins.

Clark sits back down at the table. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Well everything really"

"Ok it starts the day of the first meteor shower.."

Lois listens fascinated as Clark explains how his parents found him and raised him. He gets up to the appearance of his powers. When he gets to point his heat vision appears...

"Wait, wait, you had the hots for your biology teacher!?"

Clark rolls his eyes "She was very attractive and I was a teenager."

"But heat from your eyes because you're aroused?" Lois is finding this whole thing very amusing. She wishes she had known this story years ago.

"I'm not human Lois, my body works differently" Clark tries to explain.

"So wait why don't you burn everything down when we're together?" Lois asks interested. After all isn't she hotter than some biology teacher.

"I learned to control it but if it makes you feel better I do get a burning sensation behind my eyes when we're…"

"Clark we haven't done that yet. In fact why haven't we? Can you actually..."

"Yes I can but it requires a lot of self control" Clark tells Lois.

"I don't understand" Lois says a little confused.

"Lois you know how powerful I am. If I don't maintain control I could easily hurt you"

Oh that explains why he has been pulling back when it looks like they might have sex. Hold on a minute. He has had sex before. She knows he has. "But wait didn't you and Lana do it?" she asks.

"Yes but I'll get to that. There's a story to that if you'll let me continue" Clark tells her hoping she'll understand once he explains it all.

Lois nods and Clark gets back to his story. His rather shameful exploits in Metropolis he skips over the best he can. Not his finest moment he knows.

"You robbed a bank? You? Superman?" Lois asks him.

"Yes. I could blame the red kryptonite I suppose but truthfully I'm not really proud of that part of my life. I made some terrible mistakes"

Lois squeezes his hand gently. "We all do at that age. Trust me I wrote the book on it"

"Thank you Lois. I'll just say you turned out great"

Lois smiles gently "So did you. I take it Chloe hadn't found out about you yet"

Clark shakes his head "No not yet but she had her suspicions"

"Let me guess your little disappearing acts"

Clark nods "Yeah. It was a couple of more years before she found out everything"

"Ok. Continue" Lois prompts.

Clark does so and he explains the Fortress of Solitude and Chloe's part in the whole thing. He then goes on to explain how he was made mortal.

"Why would your father do that?" Lois asks him. It seemed to her a strange thing to do for someone who kept claiming Clark had some great destiny.

"He's not really my father. He's an AI matrix based on my father's memories and basically it was because I disobeyed him and he punished me" Clark explains to her.

"But you have your powers?" Lois asks, somewhat stating the obvious.

"My mortal life ended"

"I don't understand"

"I died Lois"

"But you're alive"

"Jor-El resurrected me but it came at too high a cost"

"What cost?"

"My dad's life. There must be balance so his life was exchanged for mine. I should never have done it. It was selfish but I just wanted a normal life"

Lois watches as Clark replays this obviously painful memory. She takes his hand once more. "It was human Clark"

"I've kept too many secrets from you Lois for too long. I'm sorry" Clark apologises.

"True but I'm willing to forgive. It actually explains a lot of the weirdness from my time in Smallville"

"Still lots to tell I'm afraid" he says with a small smile.

Lois stomach grumbles "Well it's lunchtime, so it can wait till I've eaten"

Clark look at the clock, it was lunchtime. Wow time flies when you're reliving your life. "Okay then" he says as he gets up and starts to make something for lunch.

* * *

After lunch Clark is back to story telling. He explains what really happened on Black Thursday and how this Brainiac was responsible for nearly killing Lois and his mother. "Well technically it's my fault because when I destroyed him, the copy flying your plane was destroyed as well" Clark explains.

"He was going to use us against you right?"

"Yes"

"Then it's his fault. Where did we crash by the way because no-one ever found the plane?" Lois asks out of curiosity.

Oh this is going to be awkward. "Near the Fortress. Mom dragged you to it and Jor-El transported you back to Smallville"

"So wait I've actually been there?" Lois asks him.

"Yes but you were unconscious at the time" Clark wasn't sure he should mention she thought it was heaven.

Lois thought back on that time. She nearly died. Then she was in white place with crystal like structures and she suddenly felt warm and safe. Wait didn't Clark describe it as being formed from crystals. She makes a decision. "Clark take me there"

"What?"

"Clark I nearly died that day. I need to see it"

Clark nods "Just let me get changed and I'll get you something warm to wear"

Clark dashes off and gets his costume and gets Lois a warm coat. She puts it on and he picks her up "Ready?"

Lois nods. Clark walks out to his balcony and they fly off.


	4. Chapter 4

A short time later Lois is cuddling into Clark as he flies them through the arctic circle. Thank goodness he's so warm. "Is this going to take much longer?" she asks. She is getting a little impatient.

"No, we're here" Clark tells her.

Lois looks and through a haze appears this crystal structure. It is breathtaking in its beauty. Clark lands them at what appears to be an entrance. He then says something in a language she doesn't understand. He takes her hand and they walk in. She feels a static charge as they do so. "What was that?"

"A field to keep people out. Lets just say some people have stumbled across this over the years"

"What was that you said?"

"It's keyed to a pass phrase"

"What did you say? I couldn't understand it"

"I was speaking Kryptonian and it was simply the title of my favourite book"

"To kill a mocking bird" Lois automatically says.

Clark looks at her slightly surprised that she knows that.

Lois notices the look. "What? I pay attention to you sometimes"

Clark chuckles as they walk inside. Lois is staring around in amazement. "This is what I thought was heaven"

"I suspected it might have been but I wasn't sure"

"So this place holds all the knowledge of Krypton?"

"Yes and before you ask I haven't memorised all of it. That would take a lifetime. I got the summary during my training"

"Training?" Lois asks him somewhat puzzled.

"Oh right we hadn't gotten to that yet. This has to do with where I was for those 5 years"

"You were here."

"Not all the time. I really did travel the world for some of the time" Clark explains to her trying to make what he told her not a complete lie.

Lois is shivering.

"Let me adjust the temperature". Clark walks over to the control panel and adjusts one of the crystals. The temperature increases. "How's that?"

Lois is suddenly too hot and takes her coat off. "Thank you. Why was it so cold?"

"Makes it harder to detect and in fact on Krypton that would have been considered a warm day"

"You come from an ice ball?"

"I wouldn't phrase it quite like that"

"I didn't hear a no" Lois teases.

Clark chuckles. Only Lois can make him laugh at things like that. He walks back over. "So what do you think?" he ask her.

"Clark this is amazing. Did you build this?" she asks, not ashamed to admit, starstruck.

"No it was grown from a single crystal" Clark informs her.

"There is no way you can explain this to me is there?"

"The science is well beyond what humans have reached yet"

Lois looks around. She notices that he seems to have collected a lot of stuff. She sees something she recognises and walks over to where it is sitting "Is that Luthor's kryptonite cannon?"

Clark walks up beside her "Yes. I thought I should keep it here where no-one can get it"

"I thought you destroyed it"

"This place is a monument to my people. I thought I should add my own contribution to its archives of knowledge."

Lois has wandered off already. "Clark is that a hammock?"

"Oh yeah. I used that before I had a proper bed made"

Lois is looking at him.

"I spent a lot of time here. Even I need to sleep Lois"

She continues walking and comes across a couch and what looks like draws. "You made it into a home?"

"I added some comforts. I wanted it to feel more like home. The basic construct was deliberately bland"

Lois sits on the couch. She is truly lost for words to describe this. "So you never finished your story" she points out to Clark.

Right story. Clark zips off and changes into some clothes he keeps up here, just a shirt and jeans really. Lois looks at him confused once more "It's more comfy. The suit chafes you know" Clark says explaining himself.

"Big baby"

"Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?"

"Go on then"

Clark sits down next to Lois. He picks up from Brainiac sending him to the Phantom Zone. He explains his year trying to catch the escaped criminals and what really happened in that fight club.

"Hey you really hurt my hand you know" Lois protests. In fact he nearly broke it.

"Sorry, you caught me off guard."

"So you really did beat that guy?" Lois hadn't believed him at the time.

Clark's face saddens "Yeah I did but it hurt a lot"

"He hurt you? But your invulnerable"

"He was very strong Lois. He almost killed me"

Lois stutters "I,...,I nearly lost you"

Clark hugs her. "It's ok Lo. I mean it wasn't the first thing that nearly killed me and I doubt it'll be the last. It's just the way my life is. After all the phantom that tried to hijack my body wasn't much fun or that one that created a bizarre clone of me"

"What one was that?" Lois pulls back, wipes a tear.

"The last one. It was a failed lab experiment. It was strange, like an opposite. My weaknesses strengthened it and my strengths weakened it"

"I don't understand"

"Kryptonite made it stronger while sunlight weakened it. In fact you met it."

"I did?" Lois asks.

"It was the phantom that grabbed your ass, you know after we thought Lana died"

"I thought that was you"

"I know, sorry"

"What happened to it?" Lois asks him.

"I destroyed it. It tried to replace me and take over my life"

"I get the impression you're only summarising this" Lois tells him at the lack of a lot of details.

"Lo if I told you everything we'd be here till Christmas"

"Ok then go on" Lois says accepting his answer. After all they could always get back to the details later and Lois has already decided there will be a later for the two of them.

Clark goes on to Kara's appearance, Brainiac's return and of course his eventual break up with Lana. "As for the last year before I left you know about most of it. It was during that year I realised I liked you"

"You never mentioned that before"

"I had to leave for my training"

"Why?" Lois asks him. His sudden departure had hurt her a little bit back then.

"My powers grow as I age. They went through what you could call a growth spurt. I needed to learn to control them before I hurt someone"

"What do you mean age? You barely look any different"

Oh Clark hadn't wanted to get into that "I do age Lois, just slower than a human does"

"How much slower?"

"A lot" That plagued Clark, knowing he would have to outlive everyone.

Lois didn't know what to say to that. What can you say to someone who knows they'll outlive you except "I'm here for you. I love you"

"I know. I love you too" Clark hugs Lois and she hugs him back. Clark then cups Lois's face and starts to kiss her. He teases her mouth open and their tongues meet, battling for control. Lois's hands reach under Clark's shirt and she feels his muscles. She begins to try and pull his shirt off. Clark pulls back as he always does when it looks like they are about to have sex. Out of fear mostly. "Lois..." he begins to say but she cuts him off.

"Clark I know. You think you might hurt me but you won't. I know you won't. I trust you." Lois pulls Clark's shirt off and he doesn't resist. He picks Lois up and carries her towards the bed.

* * *

Elsewhere Lex is back in the lab waiting for Dr Jones to finish. "Well? Doctor"

"The mind transfer is complete. We just have to add the kryptonite and see if it will power the body"

"I don't accept ifs Doctor." Lex tells him.

Dr Jones oversees the installation of the kryptonite. Once it is placed in the chest, the panel closes covering it up. The body is covered in a synthetic skin and exactly mimics John Corben's appearance. After a few seconds the eyes glow green and John sits up.

Dr Jones walks up to him "How do you feel John?"

"Feel? I don't feel anything. What went wrong?"

"Nothing. The mind transfer was a complete success" Dr Jones informs him.

"Then why don't I feel anything?"

Lex walks over trying to get Corben off this train of thought. "It's nothing you have to worry about John. Just some adjustments that have to be made over time. The important thing is that you're alive"

John is not so sure of that. He can feel nothing, no smell, no taste, no sense of touch, no nothing but he is alive and Lex promised him a new cloned body once he has eliminated Superman. He can live with this until then. "So what now?"

Dr Jones speaks "We run some tests, make sure the body is working as it should. If you'll follow my assistants they will conduct the tests"

John gets up and follows them.

Lex pats Dr Jones on the shoulder "Excellent work Doctor"

"Thank you but won't he be mad when he discovers there is no cloned body for him"

"It won't matter once Superman is dealt with. That lump of kryptonite can only power the body for about a month. Once his power is drained I can always find someone else to transfer into the body. What is important is that the procedure works. Now come Doctor lets see if all that money I paid was worth it" Lex and Dr Jones walk off to the testing area.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning in the Fortress Lois wakes up wrapped in silver sheets. She'll have to ask Clark where he got these, they feel incredible against her skin. She is lying on Clark's chest. He's still asleep. She has a smile on her face. They had actually made love, twice and it was wonderful. Clark had needed constant reassurance he wasn't hurting her. He was so gentle and considerate, putting her needs first. Lois watches him as he sleeps. He looks so serene in his sleep, he even has a slight smile on his face. Lois takes her hand and strokes Clark's chest. His skin feels so soft to the touch, she even found he has a couple of sensitive spots. The one just below his ear drove him nuts when she nibbled on it. He's still a mystery. He can obviously feel everything she did but she has seen him survive being hit by missiles without a scratch. It just doesn't add up.

"What are you doing Lo?" Clark was woken up by the very pleasant feeling of Lois lying on him and stroking him.

"Oh sorry did I wake you?"

"If you wake me up every morning like that I won't complain" Clark certainly is not. Last night was one of the greatest of his life. He had made love to her and it had felt so good, like it was meant to be. He had felt like he was no longer alone.

"I love you, you know" Lois tells him.

"I love you too". Clark kisses Lois' forehead.

Lois is back on the oddity of Clark's skin, she is trying to twist it without much success.

"Lois back to what are you doing?" Clark asks.

"You don't make sense"

"You've been saying that since we first met"

"True but I was referring to your skin"

"What about it?" he asks somewhat puzzled by what she finds so interesting about his skin.

"It's soft"

"I moisturise"

"You know what I mean. Bullets bounce off you, I've seen you hit by missiles"

"That's my aura. It extends a few millimetres above my skin. That's why my suit doesn't get damaged. In fact when your close to me you can feel it. Do you feel great, like almost invincible"

Lois thought about it. She had put the feeling down to the afterglow of last night but she does feel great. "Am I invincible?"

"No, my aura just energises your cells, sort of like super strong coffee"

"So you're a caffeine fix now" Lois teases.

"I'm better than caffeine" Clark pulls Lois up and starts to kiss her.

Lois can't put together a coherent answer as Clark kisses move down her neck.

* * *

Back in Metropolis Kara is patrolling the city. She had hoped to find Clark but he's nowhere to be found. She had stopped by Chloe's to see if she knew where he was. Chloe told her that Lois had finally found out the truth about Clark. About time. Kara had been telling Clark for ages to get on with it. Her attention is caught by a loud explosion. Oh well, hero time. Good grief she had been hanging around Chloe too long. She flies to find a man throwing cars around. Hey this could be more fun than she thought. "Stop"

John Corben had been throwing cars around trying to get Superman's attention. Instead he finds himself face to face with Supergirl. Oh well beggars can't be choosers. "Hello there. I was hoping for your cousin but you'll be an interesting warm up"

"Right. I'm going to put you in jail now"

"Be my guest and try"

Kara flies towards him and throws a punch only to find it caught with great strength. "Now that's not very lady like" John then hits her sending her flying across the street. He can end this at any time but why not have some fun first.

* * *

In the Fortress Lois is having a shower. Clark was right, he had made it like a home, it even has hot water. She is wondering why she was ever mad at him. Of course her good mood could be due to the fantastic sex they just had. Clark really is super. Wow was she in a zone when she came up with his name. She finishes her shower and gets changed. She finds Clark sitting at a table with breakfast.

"Where did you get that?"

"I went out when you were in the shower" he informs her.

Lois goes and sits on Clark's lap "I've been thinking"

"Uh oh" Clark teases.

Lois slaps him gently "I'm willing to forgive all your secrets just as long as you promise there aren't going to be anymore"

"I promise Lois and you know I always keep my word"

"Good" She kisses him and starts eating his breakfast.

"Oi that's mine"

"Couples share"

"It's a good thing I love you"

"Or what Smallville?"

Before Clark can answer that an alarm goes off. Lois covering her ears "What's that?"

Clark lifts Lois up and floats over to the control panel and turns the alarm off "I installed a warning system to monitor the news so I can keep an eye on things when I'm up here." Clark alters another control and a holographic display appears of a news broadcast. A reporter is on the scene "Metropolis is the scene of a battle between Supergirl and a new super powered foe" The camera zooms in. Lois looks at it "Hey that's Corben"

Clark looks at it. Where the hell did he get super powers from? In a second he goes and gets changed and is back in his costume "I have to go"

"We have to go"

"Lois..."

Lois gives him 'the look'.

"Fine but will you please stay out of trouble"

Lois puts on her innocent face "I never get into trouble"

"uh huh" Clark resets the controls and gets Lois her coat. He picks her up and they're off to Metropolis.

* * *

A little later the battle between Corben and Kara rages on. Kara is starting to get slightly annoyed. Corben throws a punch, she catches it. "I've had enough" She then punches him and he crashes into the middle of the street. She stands over him. "It's over"

Corben smiles "You're so right" The panel in his chest opens and Kara bends over in pain.

"You're a,..,a machine"

Corben stands up. "Only until you and your cousin are dead". He grabs her arm and pulls her closer. Kara can feel her strength leave. She falls to her knees. Then suddenly Corben is flying away from her. She looks up "Kal"

"Are you ok?" Clark had seen Kara on her knees and just flown in at super speed and knocked Corben away.

"He's not human" Kara shakily gets to her feet.

Clark looks at Corben and he turns around and Clark sees the kryptonite in his chest. Clark x-rays him and sees a human brain in an entirely robotic body. "What have you done to yourself Corben?"

"Ah Superman so glad you remember me. As for this" Corben gestures at his body. "This is just temporary" Corben walks forward and Clark retreats keeping his distance.

"Keeping your distance won't help you know" Corben tells Superman and he then fires a green beam of energy from his chest which hits Clark.

Clark is in some pain but he is still standing. That felt like kryptonite. Before he realises it Corben is standing next to him. Clark summons what strength he has left and hits Corben. Even though it hurt his hand he did manage to knock him some distance away.

Corben gets back up rather amused "Impressive Superman. Your cousin was on her knees by now" He fires another Kryptonite blast and Clark is knocked flat. "And speaking of your cousin" Corben walks over to Kara who is barely back on her feet. He grabs her and drags her over to where Clark is and holds him with his other hand. Clark weakly "Corben don't do this"

"You know I was thinking I should have a name like you two. How about Metallo? What do you think? I can see it in the papers 'Metallo kills Superman and Supergirl'. What do you think?"

"Won't be appearing in my paper!"

Corben looks round "Ah Ms Lane"

Clark had dropped Lois off nearby and then she had watched Corben drop Clark to the ground in seconds. Oh dear god this cannot be happening, not when they had just worked everything out. She has to do something. She finds a crowbar among the debris, not caring where it came from and walked over towards Corben. She only has one chance at this.

Corben had been looking forward to seeing Ms Lane again. After all she is as much responsible for putting him in jail as anyone. "I'll get to you in a second right after I kill these two" he tells her.

"You know Corben you never were very bright" Lois says to him as she walks slowly towards him.

"What are you going to do? That crowbar you're holding can't hurt me?"

"No but with no free hands you can't stop me from doing this" Lois then shoves the crowbar into his chest and levers out the kryptonite.

As soon as the kryptonite is gone, Corben can feel his power drain away. "Nooo!" he screams.

Lois grabs the kryptonite and throws it as far away as she can. She runs over to Clark still held in Corben's hand. "Superman wake up!" she shouts at him. Please dear god be still alive.

"Lois?" Clark's eyes open.

"Thank god"

Luckily it's daytime and Clark tries to absorb as much sunlight as he can. He reaches up and prises Corben's hand open. He then reaches over and frees Kara who is still unconscious. He picks her up "She needs unfiltered sunlight, I'll be right back" he tells Lois. Clark then takes off and flies straight up. Once high up Kara starts to stir. "Kara wake up"

"It's too early mother" she mumbles.

"Kara I am not your mother"

Kara's eyes shoot open "Oh hey Kal"

"We're alone, you can use Clark"

Kara looks around and sees they're high up. "What happened?"

"You fought a kryptonite powered cyborg, remember?"

Oh yeah. Now she does. "That thing, you stopped it?"

"Lois did, can you fly by yourself?"

"I think so"

Kara floats back from Clark a little bit. "So Lois huh. Well she does owe you a few"

"I stopped counting years ago"

"Where were you by the way?" Kara asks in regards to his whereabouts.

"In the Fortress with Lois" he answers.

"Doing what?" Kara asks since he had been gone by all accounts for a whole day more or less.

Clark's face reddens. Kara sees his cheeks blush. "Clark were you and Lois having sex while I was in mortal danger?"

"No we were having breakfast" Clark answers trying to avoid answering Kara's question. She may be his cousin but god sometimes she was embarrassing.

"I take it you two sorted out your problems"

Clark shakes his head. There is only one way she could know about that. "Chloe right?"

"She mentioned it in passing"

Clark continues to shake his head. "Does everyone need to know about my personal life?"

"I'm family and if you and Lois keep it up I may have a second cousin soon" Kara teases him.

Clark's face blushes a deeper colour of red. "Kara I am not discussing this with you. Come on we better get back before whoever created that cyborgs tries and does a disappearing trick"

"I'm telling Chloe" Kara teases. She is going to get years of fun out of this.

Clark and Kara get back down to find Lois with the police. Clark and Kara give their statements while the police arrange to have Corben taken away.

"You think this is over it's not" Corben's immobile body still talks.

Kara walks over "Who created you?"

"I'm saying nothing but sooner or later I'll get another piece of kryptonite then you two will be finished"

Clark walks over "You should be more worried about yourself. How long do you think those batteries that are keeping your mind going will last?"

Corben says nothing.

Kara walks away "Forget it Kal, let him die. He doesn't want to be saved"

Clark sighs, it seems she is right. He turns around as well and talks to the police "Is there anything else officers?"

"No Superman thank you. We'll take this thing away and see if it'll talk to us"

Clark nods and he and Kara fly off.

* * *

In Lex's office at Luthorcorp Mercy is explaining what has transpired. Lex pours a large drink "Arrange to have Corben retrieved before he talks"

"Yes Mr Luthor" Mercy walks off

Lex thinks things over. Perhaps with some alterations to the robotic body he can still make this work. Of course he needs to get more kryptonite but that only takes time and money. Today did prove though that Project Metallo can work and that Superman and Supergirl can be brought to their knees.

* * *

That evening Clark is at Lois' apartment. She is at her desk typing up a story on what happened today. He looks over her shoulder "There's 2 Ls in Metallo" he gently corrects her as she had spelt it with only one.

"Thank you" She turns and kisses him on his cheek.

Clark goes and sits on the couch "Thank you for saving me"

"All I did was pull the plug" Lois says in regards to Metallo.

"That's not what I meant"

Lois stops, turns and looks at him intently.

"I meant to say thank you for forgiving me and for the fact when I'm with you I don't feel like I'm alone anymore"

Lois walks over and sits next to Clark "You have Kara?"

"She's my cousin Lois. I was meaning in the romantic relationship sense"

"Ah. Well I should thank you"

"For what?"

"Before you came along I was just career driven. I hate to admit it but my personal life was non-existent"

"You dated" Clark reminds her.

"The wrong men" Lois adds to Clark's point. Even though some of them had been very nice they were not quite right for her she realises thinking back on it.

"Lois you are the most intelligent and beautiful woman I have ever met. They were jerks who didn't deserve you"

"That's what Chloe said"

"Did she? I'm avoiding her" Clark informs Lois.

"Why?"

"Kara told her"

"Told her what?" Lois asks rather confused at what Clark is on about.

"What we were doing up in the Fortress"

"How did she find out!? She wasn't spying on us was she?" Lois asks with some outrage.

"No it's just to Kara I'm kind of easy to read and the fact I blushed when she asked where I was didn't help"

Lois looks at him and smiles. "Clark you're blushing now. It's really kind of sweet you know"

"It's the way I was brought up. I still haven't got over when my mom caught us coming out the bathroom together when we first met"

"Oh come on Clark we didn't do anything"

"I know that"

A thought suddenly occurs to Lois. "Want to do something in my shower?"

Clark looks at Lois "God yes". They then start kissing as they make their way towards the bathroom. As the saying goes the truth shall set you free and now Clark and Lois are free to head towards their destiny together.

The End.

* * *

Author's Note: It's done. Please feel free to review. I'm thinking about doing a death of Superman story Smallville style but it could be a while before I write it. So please be patient.


End file.
